Biomass boom boosts business for equipment

30 April 2010,

The growth of the biomass industry is leading to increased business opportunities for the arboricultural equipment market, according to a Wales-based firm.

Equipment Supply Services, which supplies kit including woodchippers and
forestry machinery, is now seeing immense growth in the sector,
according to marketing manager Sam Owen. "We have been doing the biomass
side of the business for seven years but it is growing," he explained.
"The technology has been around for decades but European legislation has
created a surge in recent times."

An EU directive on renewable energy demands that 20 per cent of energy
should come from renewable sources, including biomass, by 2020. The
directive must be implemented by member states by December 2010.

Owen said: "Arboriculturists that are just sending their waste products
away could realistically be selling it on as a product." He added that
the firm had seen around 600 per cent growth in the past year, but said
the figure was distorted due to the recession.